


Past & Future

by chancellorxofxtrash (PhoebeMurdivine)



Category: Baccano!
Genre: Gen, baccanoweek, it's just a thing, not much happens in it really, post-2002, so Light Novel Spoilers Ahoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-12 02:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7916641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoebeMurdivine/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lotto Valentino had changed a lot, but in some aspects, didn't change at all. Threads started from here - and perhaps they'd end there too, one day.</p><p>This is not that day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Past & Future

**Author's Note:**

> Baccanoweek Day 4: Past or Future

Ditching Elmer in Lotto Valentino seemed like a impossible feat to Luchino. He lived there didn’t he? He grew up there. He definitely lived there quite a few years, and obviously was a lot older than Luchino would ever be.

But the age of Elmer could be tipping the scales to Luchino’s favour, all in all. Elmer claimed he hadn’t been in Lotto Valentino since 1711.

That’s a long time, and a lot of things can change in that time.

It got a lot cleaner, there were some more modern buildings - after all, a lot of the buldings that Elmer had known, got blown up a long time ago, but even the passage of time had worn them down. But this town had a lot of feel for the historical aspect of it - it was good for the tourism, as Luchino understood. People came here for the library a lot, and they appreciated the authentic feel. Of course with the better hygiene. Nobody wanted to be _ too  _ authentic now, right. There was  _ almost _ no touristic appeal in that. Almost.

But a lot of things remained the same, Luchino knew that - even a lot of damaged buildings were rebuilt to resemble their original state. Therefore, the small streets were a no-go when it came to hiding from Elmer. As far as Luchino knew, despite the long time that had passed since the early 18th century, immortals tend to have a real good memory, especially when it comes to around the time they became immortal. Or at the very least, Elmer seemed like a never-ending, way-too enthusiastic wikipedia article when it came to talking about random trivia about Lotto Valentino.

It was very, very tiring, needless to say.

But there were things, Elmer did not know. Because yes, a lot of things became unchanged, or made to resemble the old, but there were new things. The city had to accomodate the scholars and the tourists who came here, after all. Times were changing, and just like the immortals themselves changed in nuanced ways, so did the city where so many of them came from.

But this wasn’t the 18th century anymore. This was now, the 21st century, and as much as most of the immortals deal well with adjusting to the times, they’ll always carry the weight of the time they were born in. Luchino also understood this.

But Luchino? This was Luchino’s time. This was the era he lived in, this fast-paced evolution. And he knew the new Lotto Valentino like the back of his hand.

For a short while, he considered going to the Boronial mansion - it was closed for renovations now, but as it was getting dark out there, no workers were there currently, but then discarded this idea. One, Elmer was familiar with the place, if one could trust all his ramblings (and Elmer had no reason to lie about that, so) and Elmer most certainly wouldn’t care about it being a construction area now either. Two, there were rumours of the place being haunted by a ghost.

Luchino would have laughed, but he had known about things.

Who knows about ghosts?

Luchino lived a lot of his life in Lotto Valentino. His family valued their history… okay, let’s be completely honest here, this was an understatement. But the point was, that Luchino also knew the city quite well.

He knew every corner, every stone, most locals knew him by his face.

They whispered of the blonde family, but they mostly stayed distant. Of course not all the time - Luchino knew there were family members who were less-then thrilled with their family’s obsession with the past. They were never spoken about again, not by names, but Luchino knew.

He never felt like it was an option for him, but he was okay with it.

Even if he wouldn’t have been okay with it, he had no other choice, so he was okay with it.

And as for the future…

He never thought it might have a chance to end with him. He always thought he’d get married someday, even though his entire being rebelled against the thought, of dragging a partner, dragging a _ child  _ into this whole obsession with revenge.

He knew what his ancestors expected of him.

But he also knew they were long dead.

So the question remained - what to do if it’s over? If the Mask Makers are done, for good? Either because the revenge had been fulfilled, or because Luchino succeeded in taking them apart?

What future could possibly wait for Luchino after revenge?

Well. So far there was really no end in sight, so Luchino pushed away the thoughts for now.

-

He ended up walking to one of the hotels of the city. It was a newer building, it wasn’t even there back in the 18th century - of course, “newer” meant in this case, that it was most likely opened in the end of the 20th century. Probably the eighties, judging by the decor.

It wasn’t like Luchino usually spent a lot of time there - on the contrary, actually. But as he was rarely here, maybe Elmer would take some time to find him. Same about Aging. He really wanted to be alone a little, alone with his thoughts.

“Good evening, sir” the receptionist didn’t even bat an eye when he saw the boy. “You need a room for the night?”

“No, thanks. Can I just stay in the lobby?”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. Our policy is…”

“It’s alright. I’ll rent a room, then.”

-

Not like he actually spent time in the room, and he used one of his many fake names for the registration, and just sat there in the lobby, flipping through one of the many outdated newspapers, when a flash of red caught the corner of his eye.

A redheaded girl walked in, in a big hat, and sunglasses even in the dark, and a long coat, followed by a dark haired boy also in a hat, so Luchino couldn’t see his face, and a young woman - but it was the first girl, who gave Luchino the nagging feeling he had seen her before.

It took him a short while for the feeling to click - it was Claudia Walken, the movie star. Aging really liked her movies, and she ended up making Luchino watch some of those, calling them classics. Lucino was less then impressed with some of them. So if she was Claudia Walken, then the boy must have been her brother, the stuntsman, Charon. Probably. He wasn’t that much of a public figure, Luchino didn’t even know how he looked like. The woman who followed them might have been their mother, but her blonde hair made Luchino think that was not the case, not to mention that he couldn’t see any resemblance between them.

Why would a movie star be here?

He walked up to the room he ended up renting, so he could call Aging, and ask her about it - he really had a nagging feeling that this was not right. Lotto Valentino, while popular, mostly for scholarly tourists. No good beaches for tourist purposes. Most non-scholar tourist groups who came, only came here for day trips.

Definitely not a place where a movie star would spend her vacation at.

-

<Oh? Right Boss, you don’t keep up with the news. She was on the Entrance. Rumour has it in the underworld that her friend disappeared. She might be trying to find leads to her here.>

Luchino hung up the phone, his mind racing.

Why would they come here to look for someone? Did they heard of the Mask Makers on the Entrance as well? As far as Luchino knew, SAMPLE wasn’t on the Entrance, so they probably didn’t make the announcement there. Or were they there? Who took Claudia Walken’s friend?

Luchino shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

If she was here, she probably managed to find a lead to the past of the Mask Makers. Probably looking for him.

He’ll have to decide on the next course of action, preferably before they actually find and contact him.

There was a knock on his door.

Without thinking, Luchino bolted to the window, and climbed out.

-

Thankfully, he was on the ground floor, so it was easy to get down, just a single drop to the ground. He barely even lost his balance.

“Huh. You really climbed out the window. I guess I lost a bet against Aging. Serves me right, for betting against her when she knows you better than I do. I bet it’d make her smile, though, when I’ll have to pay for her food tomorrow.”

Oh, great.

By running away from a possible future threat, he ran into the past annoyance.

Just typical.

Elmer obviously didn’t stop smiling, and Luchino just sighed.

“What do you want? Better yet what do  _ they _ want?” he gestured inside with his head.

“Hm? Oh, them. Their friend was taken by SAMPLE, so they are following leads. They came here to ask us for what we have, and let’s see if they can help us as well.”

“I sincerely doubt they could help.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

Luchino narrowed his eyes, and just looked at Elmer’s smiling face.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’m pretty sure those two… I mean the boy, Charon resembles Huey more than you resemble Monica. Which is impressive.”

Luchino immediately turned back towards the window.

“Help me climb back in.”

“If I do that, will you give me a smiiile?”

“Elmer, for… just help me.”

-

As soon as he was back in, he heard the knocking on his door again, so he just went there to open it.

Whatever the future might hold, with talking with them, he can’t back out.

Would the knock yank him deeper down to the past, or open a door to a possible future?

Well. He won’t know unless he answers, won’t he?

-

Lotto Valentino had changed a lot, but in some aspects, didn't change at all. Threads started from here - and perhaps they'd end there too, one day.

 

This is not that day.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
